Yet another cake...

...and this time it wasn't one I got to taste... Ohh well you can't win them all...

Anyway this is a birthday cake for Bertram - son of my husbands colleague who is turning 6 years old (I think) tomorrow and his mother wanted to surprise him with a cool cake for his birthday. She told me that he had been to a birthday party at a friends house a while back and they had served a cool spiderman cake, so I just hope that this cake can live up to the incredible spiderman cake from that birthday...

and a picture from the side...

Happy birthday Bertram, I hope you and your family enjoy the cake very much and have a great day i Capella Play...

Hubby's birthday and cake

Today my husband turns 30 and in light of this occasion I thought it only appropriate to make him a birthday cake.

Recently he has become very interested in American football and his favourite team is The Indianapolis Colts, so I thought I would challenge myself a bit and try to model something for the cake this time. This was what I made:

 

A miniature Colts helmet and what a challenge! I've never really modelled something like this and it was a bit more difficult than I expected but overall I was satisfied...

Anyway this is what the cake looked like before he brought it to work and they ate it all!

It spells Happy Birthday in Danish.  

 

 

 and the cake from above:

My husband was very surprised and very happy about the cake. The filling was caramel mousse with crushed vanilla biscuits and milk chocolate mousse with crushed vanilla biscuits meant to imitate the chocolate bar TWIX and it got very high praises. I was a bit nervous about the filling as it was the first time I tried this combo but everyone seemed to like it...

Danish New Year's Traditions

Now I told you about Christmas traditions here in Denmark, I might as well tell you about New Year's as well. Not that there are so many traditions related to this celebration of entering the new year but there are a few which you can be sure to meet if you celebrate New Year's in Denmark.

One of these traditions is to serve fish of some kind either as a starter or a main course. Some save the seafood (prawns and oysters) for later and serve it with the champagne at midnight. An old tradition in Denmark is to serve boiled cod fish with mustard sauce. Not one of my favourite dishes as I find it very bland and really don't care for boiled fish at all. I bet it's much better steamed... At home with my parents we have either prawn cocktails as a starter or we have toast with prawns, caviar and mayo as a midnight snack along with cheese and crackers. Sometimes my mother chooses to swap out the prawns for gravad lax on toast. That's a treat as well.

Then for the main course, if you have chosen to have fish as a starter, we often get some kind of special and or expensive cut of meat. That could be beef tenderloin, roast beef, veal sirloin roast or something like that with all sorts of side dishes. On New Year's Eve this year (well last year actually) my husbands uncle had made pork tenderloin in mushroom gravy served on toast and it was magnificent! It really tasted so good that you couldn't stop eating...

Now for dessert which varies from everything between having ice cream, lemon mousse, Irish Coffee, Crème Brûlée or some other fancy kind of dessert. This year I chose to make white chocolate mousse with blackberry sauce and Daim sprinkles on top... My husband actually decided that he wanted this dessert because it's his favourite flavour combo when it comes to desserts.

  

Another tradition on New Year's Eve is to toast the New Year with some kind of bubbly drink, whether it being champagne, Verdi, Asti Sprutmante or which ever you prefer. My favourite is Asti and I only had a tiny sip this year because I'm pregnant and don't drink alcohol at all. With this drink we also have Danish marzipan ring cake like this:

picture borrowed from http://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/

I tried to make this last year but found it very time consuming and a bit difficult to get the perfect "tower" so this year I made Danish marzipan cake bits instead and I loved them. I'm a sucker for marzipan so this is my favourite treat.

I think you should try this out yourselves and then tell me if you're as big a fan as I am of these delicious goodies...

Danish Marzipan cake bits 

Marzipan mix:

500 grams raw marzipan (containing a high level of almonds) 

200 grams cane sugar

100 grams egg whites

Icing:

100 grams icing sugar

a bit of egg white

Making the marzipan mix

Whisk cane sugar and egg whites until it's a white and fluffy substance. Leave it to infuse for an hour until the sugar is dissolved. Knead the egg and sugar mix into the marzipan little by little until the mix is homogeneous.

Put the marzipan mix into a piping bag with a large nozzle (you decide which ever you like best I used a bekanal nozzle) and pipe out the pieces onto a baking sheet as big as you like them to be. Let them set for about half an hour before putting them into the oven and baking them at 200C (400F) for about 8-10 minutes until they are golden. Let the bits cool off.

Icing:
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add a bit of egg white. Whisk it together and if the icing is left making little tops when you take out the whisker it is ready. If it is still rather liquid sift in some more icing sugar and mix again. Make a little piping bag out of a baking sheet (see how to HERE) and fill it with the icing, not all the way to the top as it will come out on top as well. cut a hole at the end of the cone and pipe out thin lines on the marzipan cake bits.

Have fun making these delicious treats which are also very good even though your not celebrating New Year's.

Vanilla cookie rings

With only 6 days left until Christmas Eve I'm beginning to feel a bit nostalgic and in light of this mood I put on the best Christmas music ever and began baking the ultimate Danish Christmas cookies: vanilla cookie rings. It's a classic and this was my first time making them.

This recipe was one I got watching a Danish pastry chefs program called "The Sweet Life" and I'd love to share it with all of you. It's really simple and makes the most wonderful crisp and delicious cookies you could dream of.

Vanilla cookie rings

1-1½ vanilla pod

200 grams soft butter

180 grams sugar (I used cane sugar but you can also use the regular kind)

1 egg

250 grams all purpose flour

75 grams almonds, grounded very finely almost into almond "flour"

Split the vanilla pod right down the middle and scrape out the seeds with your knife. Mash the seeds and a bit of the sugar together so that the seeds separate better.

Put the vanilla into a bowl and mix it together with the rest of the sugar and the soft butter. Stir in the egg and finish off by adding the almond "flour" and the all purpose flour to the mix.

Put the dough into a piping bag mad out of fabric with a star tulle in it and pipe out rings with a diameter of appox. 5 centimetres.

Bake the rings in a preheated oven at 200C (400F) until they are light golden (about 10-14 minutes, but keep an eye on them)

Let the cookies cool of on a rack and keep them in a tight fitting container.

Bon appetit and have a great time making these...

13th of December - Lucia Day

Today we celebrate Lucia Day in Denmark. This is the day where school children across the country participate in a Lucia Day Procession and bake Lucia bread.

According to legend Lucia was an Italian saint and after she had converted to Christianity, she brought food to her fellow believers. They had to hide from the pagan authorities in underground burial chambers. Lucia placed candles in a wreath on her head so she could carry the food in her hands. The heathen authorities arrested her and she suffered martyrdom on the 13th of December.

The custom of Lucia processions are relatively new and dates from 1928 and originated from Sweden. Maybe my friend Carina, who has just moved to Sweden, could tell a bit more about the Swedish traditions surrounding the celebration of Lucia Day.

In Denmark Lucia is a part of the Christmas celebration even though the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other and the Lucia Day Procession takes place at almost every school,  care home or library and the children participating are dressed in white coats carrying a lit candle between their hands and are lead by the Lucia bride who carries the wreth of candles on her head just like Lucia.

Today I have marked the occasion by baking Lucia bread and of course I'm going to share my lovely recipe with you...

Lucia Bread (makes 12 rolls)

75 grams butter

150 ml milk

25 grams fresh yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon saffron (or 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, which I used)

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

400 grams all purpose flour

Brushing: 1 whisked egg

Decoration:  raisins

Melt the butter in a pot and add in the milk. Transfer the liquid to a bowl and making sure that it isn't too hot (stick in your little finger, if you're not burned but the liquid is lukewarm, it's ready) crumble in the yeast and let it dissolve. Mix together the saffron (or cardamom) and sugar and stir it into the liquid followed by the rest of the ingredients. Mix the dough together with a spoon and when it's firm cover the bowl with a lid and let it rise somewhere warm  for about half an hour.

Let out the dough onto a flour dusted table top and knead the dough. Split the dough into 12 pieces roll them into sausages and  shape them into an "S". Place them onto a baking sheet and let them rise for another 15 minutes. Brush the rolls with the whisked egg and decorate with rasins.

Bake the roll in the preheated oven at about 225C (437F) for 10-12 minutes until they are golden.

Bon appetit...

Swedish chocolate cookies and Crispy cookie circles

These cookies are some of the traditional Christmas cookies my family have been making for as long as I can remember for the holidays and I really want to share these with you. I have some fond memories of helping out in the kitchen at Christmas along side my mum and grandmother and I really miss that as I've gotten older. I try to bring along some of their traditions and for me it just wouldn't be Christmas without.

Christmas is for me the time for remembering those who are near to us and loved ones who have passed away and these cookies help me to do that this time of year. So here we go...

Swedish chocolate cookies (cookies on the left)

300 grams all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

200 grams sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

200 grams cold butter

1 egg

Brushing:

1 egg white

 

Garnish

Danish pearl sugar

Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and crumble it into the flour. Use the egg to make the dough stick together - it will be quit soft. Roll the dough into 6 bars with about 1½ centimetre girth and as long as your baking sheet allows them to be.

Put the bars onto the baking sheet and lightly press them flat with your palms. Brush them with egg white and sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Bake the bars in the oven at 175C (347F) for about 10 minutes.
 

When the bars are done cut them into diagonal cookies while they are still hot (can be done with a pizza wheel) and leave them on the baking sheet to cool of before putting them into a container.

Crispy cookie circles (cookies on the right)

250 grams cold butter

250 grams all purpose flour

50 ml double cream

Brushing:

1 egg

Garnish:
Danish pearl sugar

Cut the butter into small pieces an crumble it into the flour. Add in the cream to make the dough stick together but you mustn't knead it. Put the dough in the fridge for about ½ hour. 

Roll out the dough onto a heavily flour dusted tabletop and cut out the cookies with either two glasses or round cookie cutters making the circles about 1 cm wide.

Place the cookies onto a baking sheet and brush the cookies very carefully with the egg (whisked together) and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Bake the cookies in the upper half of the oven at 200C (400F) for about 8 minutes or till they are golden.
 

Be cautious when removing the cookies from the baking sheet they will crumble or break apart very easily. Put them carefully into a container when they are completely cooled off. 

Bon appetit and enjoy!

Apple rolls

Originally the idea was to use the leftover apples I had to make apple jam or something like that but I didn't really have the time to spend making that. Then I stumbled upon a Danish recipe for Apple rolls and I had planned to make rolls anyway, so there was an easy solution! Apple rolls it was...

A really simple recipe and it didn't take up much of my time and if I wasn't in a Christmas mood before, I sure was as I started to make the rolls. Their delicious smell of cinnamon spread out through the entire apartment and made me want to start my Christmas decorating really early this year, so it was definitely the right time to try them out and they taste absolutely wonderful! I think it will become a part of my Christmas traditions to make them every year.

Danish apple rolls (25-30 rolls)

50 grams yeast (fresh)

300 ml lukewarm water

300 ml lukewarm milk

1 egg

4 pealed and coarsely grated apples (your favourite kind)

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons cane sugar (you can also use the regular kind)

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 kilo all purpose flour (approximately)

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) 

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and milk. Add the rest of the ingredients - leaving the flour for last to be added little by little.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes and let it rise in a covered bowl for about 30 minutes. Knead the dough once more and make the rolls. Put them onto a baking sheet and let them rise for another 30 minutes.

Glaze the rolls with a beaten egg and sprinkle them with a bit of cinnamon sugar mix. Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes.

Bon appetit...

sinful chocolate brownies with berries

Yum-O! That's the best word to describe this delicious brownie. I served it with a scoop of really great vanilla ice cream and some leftover fresh blueberries and I was floored! My guests really dug in even though they were still full from the main course and that must be a compliment to the chef (baker?) I will definitely bake these brownies again and just give them 20 minutes in the oven - they could have been a bit more moist but they were fine with the vanilla ice cream. Quick and simple to make and not too expensive. Just be on the lookout for cheap fresh berries and you're on a roll. I made mine with blueberries and I know Carina used raspberries so I'm excited to find out what she thought of this our 18th dish - well strictly speaking it was really a cake right... The first cake of the cooking project... See Carina's brownies on her blog...

This portion makes about 10 slices

100 grams butter

2 dl brown sugar (I ended up using half brown sugar and half regular sugar as I ran out of brown sugar)

100 grams dark bitter chocolate

2 eggs

1 dl all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

100 grams berries (raspberries, blueberries or blackberries)

Decoration:

1½ dl double cream

200 grams fresh berries

Confectioners sugar or cocoa powder to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350F) and line a small 8" springform tin.

Put the butter, brown sugar and coarsely chopped chocolate into a pot and melt it slowly while stirring until it has uniform texture. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool of a bit. Then whisk in the eggs one at the time. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture and fold it in carefully with the berries.

Pour the dough into the springform tin and bake it in the middle of the oven for about 20-25 minutes. The cake is supposed to be a bit sticky in the middle.

Let the cake cool off and serve it with a side of whipped cream and extra berries. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar or cocoa powder if you feel like it.

Bon appetit...

Sunday baking

What a lovely way to spend a Sunday just baking, tidying up and doing a load of laundry or two... I spent the most time baking of couse and this is the result (I even learned to edit my photos as well and this is my first time trying to blur the background...)

Rhubarb cake and peppermint muffins with peppermint butter cream

Earlier this week my husband brought the leftover sweet rolls with honey and nuts to share at work and they really liked them so his colleagues came asking for more. Thursday evening I asked my husband to look through my muffin cook book and tell me what he wanted to bring and he pointed directly to the peppermint muffins. He is absolutely crazy about peppermint so that didn't surprise me. The hard part of making these muffins were getting hold of the peppermint extract which is required. I couldn't find it in the city so I just replaced it with After Eight chocolate and it worked like a charm! These muffins are really delicious if you like peppermint flavour so try them out.

Peppermint muffins with peppermint butter cream (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

125 grams soft butter

125 grams sugar

2 eggs

125 grams all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Peppermint extract (a few drops)

Green food colouring (a few drops)

100 grams chocolate chips

Peppermint butter cream:

175 grams soft butter

350 grams confectioner's sugar

3 tablespoons boiling water

Vanilla extract (a few drops or seeds from a whole vanilla pod )

Peppermint extract (a few drops)

Green food colouring (a few drops)

Decoration: chocolate sprinkles

Baking:

Preheat the oven to 190 C (375F). Get a bowl and whisk the butter and sugar in the bowl until it has a light and fluffy texture. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, peppermint extract and the green food colouring and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Then stir in the chocolate chips and distribute the mixture into 12 muffin cases. Bake the muffins in the oven about 12-15 minutes until they have risen and are firm in the middle. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them off on a grid and get started on the butter cream.

Peppermint butter cream.

Whisk the butter in a bowl until it softens and then add the confectioner's sugar, the boiling water and vanilla. Whisk the mixture until it gets a light colouring and becomes smooth.The add peppermint extract and the green food colouring and whisk it all together. When the muffins have cooled off apply the butter cream on top and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles...

I also succeeded in making a old-fashioned Danish rhubarb cake today with help from a delicious recipe I found on one of the blogs I read. We haven't sunk our teeth into this cake yet - I'm serving it for dessert tonight but it has been trying for us not to take a big bite out of it already... I'll share this recipe with you in English and link to the original recipe in Danish at the end of this post.

Old-fashioned rhubarb cake with meringue

Ingredients:

175 grams butter

100 grams sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 pinch of salt

3 egg yolks

250 grams all purpose flour

2½ teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons milk

Rhubarb meringue:

3 egg whites

200 grams sugar

100 grams chopped hazelnuts

600 grams rhubarb

Dough:

Melt the butter and mix it with sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the egg yolks. Mix flour and baking powder and alternating sift it into the bowl with the milk.

Rhubarb meringue:

Wash the rhubarb and cut it into little pieces of 2 cm each. Put them on a kitchen towel to dry off. Whisk the egg whites stiff and gradually mix in the sugar which makes the meringue tough. Carefully fold in the chopped nuts and the rhubarb. 

Pour the dough into a tin and spread out the rhubarb meringue on top of it. Bake the cake at 175C (325-350F) for about an hour. Keep an eye on the cake and make sure that the meringue doesn't get burned. Cover the cake with tinfoil when it has darkened enough for your taste.

Bon appetit...

To see the original recipe go to Slagt En Hellig Ko - Gammeldags rabarberkage

Sweet rolls filled with honey and nuts

Perfect recipe for a lazy sunday afternoon when your just snoozing about anyway and get the munchies - it takes time to make and that's why it's perfect for a day like this...

I made icing to go along with it - it wasn't that sugary because it contains honey instead of sugar and so the icing really compliments the nutty and delicious flavour. The rolls can be made the day before and reheated before serving. This batch makes up 16 rolls and they are a nice supplement to your morning cup of coffee, afternoon tea or the sunday brunch. You'll need:

Dough:

25 grams fresh yeast

2 dl milk

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

½ tablespoon ground coriander

1½ tablespoon honey

8½ dl flour

125 grams butter

Filling:

100g hazelnuts

2 large tablespoons honey

50 grams butter

Icing: confectioner's sugar and water

Warm up the milk and dissolve the yeast into the milk. Whisk in the eggs and add salt, coriander and honey. Take out another bowl and put in the flour. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and crumble it together with the flour. Gradually add the flour mixture to the milk and knead the dough quickly and let it rest under a cloth for 1 hour. Cut the dough into two pieces. Roll them out into two circles about ½-1 centimetres thick and cut the circles into 8 triangles each.

Put the nuts into a blender and blend them until they have a floury texture. Add honey and butter and give it another spin making it a sweet paste.

 

Spread out the filling on the dough triangles and roll them up into horns and give the ends a little squeeze so they will stick around the filling.

Let the horns rest on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes and bake them in a preheated oven at 200C (about 400F) for about 15 minutes. Decorate with icing and hazelnut sprinkles before serving.

Bon appetit...

Read about Carina's result and take on this "dish" - HERE